Device for the production of unicoloured and multicoloured tufted materials



June 14, 1966 E. GRCSHL DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF UNICOLOURED AND MULTICOLOURED TUFTED MATERIALS 2: Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1965 June 14, 1966 GRbHL 3,255,730

DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF UNICOLOURED AND MULTICOLOURED TUFTED MATERIALS. Filed Feb. 25, 1963 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 1 1 9 1/77 {Hf/L 6 U/ June 14, 1966 E. GRbl-ll.

DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF UNICOLOURED AND MULTICOLOURED TUFTED MATERIALS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 25, 1963 FIG..?

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United States Patent 8 Claims. c1. 118624) The present invention relates to a device for the production of unicoloured and multicoloured tufted materials, in which a support provided with an adhesive layer is guided through an electric field generated by at least one electrode, whereby it is tufted with fibres within the said electric field.

It is known to tuft with fibres materials provided with an adhesive layer in an electric field making use of elec- It is furthermore known to obtain on the materials used as 'a support a tut-ting with designs by the fact that only specific areas of the support are provided with adhesive and tufted or that on a layer tufted already with fibres adhesive is applied anew and that a further fibre layer is tufted on it. The methods as used up to now, have, however, the drawback that they cannot be carried out generally in one single operation and that they are thus very time-consuming and expensive and that by means of them no sharp and uniform tuft limits can be obtained, particularly if designs shall be made of narrowly adjacent tufting areas.

It is an object of the invention, to provide a device for tufting materials.

It is a further object of the invention, to provide a device by means of which the tufting of figures with sharp and uniform tufting limits becomes possible.

A further object of the invention is, to provide a device, which permits the tuftin-g in figures, with narrowly adja cent tufting ranges.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for tufting with figures in which the configuration of a multitude of designs becomes possible, particularly stripe designs.

A further object of the invention is finally to carry out the tufting of a support with designs in such a manner that only one single application of adhesive is necessary.

The invention provides that the support to be tufted can be covered partially or completely by means of an electrically pre-rtensioned cover.

In preferred embodiments according to the invention, the covering is provided with templet-type recesses.

The coveringaccording to the invention is suitable pretensioned with about 100 to 10,000 volts.

The covering maybe made of steel sheet metal or metal foil with a thickness of about 1 mm. or less and may have, if steel sheet metal with a thickness of about 1 mm. is used, covering rims, which are configurated in the shape of a cutting edge.

The covering according 'to the invention is arranged preferably at a distance of about to 200 mm. from the support to be tufted.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the covering can be adjusted laterally and as to its height.

(For this purpose the covering may be arranged in a manner known per se on a screw spindle which can be adjusted in its height and can be shifted laterally on the slide.

According to further preferred embodiments of the invention, the support to be tufted is covered simultaneously byat least two coverings arranged at a distance at the side of each other, so that the material to be tufted on a usual Ifeeding device 51.

3,2557% Patented June 14, 1966 can reach the support only through the space left between the two coverings. I

The following descriptions of preferred embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawing serves to explain the invention further.

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a preferred embodiment of the tufit-ing device with cover plate according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a lateral view of the device according to FIGURE 1;

'FIGURE 3 is a plan View of the device according to FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a cover plate according to the invention with a templet-type recess.

FIGURES 1 to 3 show a device for the t-ufting materials in an electric field. The tufting material 1 is fed into the tutfting device by means of a conveying device in the shape of natural or artificial fibers of a length of preferably about 0.1 to 10 mm. In FIGURE 1 the conveying device is con-figurated as an endless conveyor belt 2 running around rollers 3 and driven by a motor 50. The conveyor belt .2 is loaded with fibers on the one side from Not consumed fibers I1 are sucked oil? by a sucking device 4 driven by a motor 52 and these fibers may be loaded again on the conveyor belt 2. The conveyor belt 2 has preferably a metallized surface in order to build up a specific potential.

Above the conveyor belt 2 an electrode 5 is arranged. This electrode 5 consists of a Wire mesh of metal wire and is connected with a powerful high tension source 53 which provides a voltage of e.g. 100,000 volts. The electrode S is suspended by means of insulating gut strings 6 on a stationary frame 7 of the device. By means of pegs 8 the distance of the electrode 5 from the frame 7 can be adjusted. The electrode 5 can be vibrated by means of a vibrator 70.

A plate 9 is furthermore carried on the frame 7 and the material 10 to be tufted is supported on this plate. This plate 9 is made of metaland represents the counter electrode necessary for the generation of the field. If e.g. the electrode 5 is pre-tensioned with a tension of 100,000 volts of positive polarity, the plate 9 forms the opposite negative pole which may be held possibly on ground potential. As shown in FIGURE 1, the plate 9 is carried by means of springs 11 in such a way that it can vibrate and it may be vibrated by means of an electromagnetic vibrator 12. The vibrator 12 may be configurated as a coil with iron coresimilar to the vibrator 70and may be excited by alternative current of a corresponding frequency. An armature 18 arranged on a rod 17 transfers the vibrations to the plate 9. The vibration frequency of the plate 9 may be held e.g. within the range of about 3000 c.p.s.

The material 10 to be tufted consists of a support, on which an adhesive layer 13 was applied by means of a device 60. The support may consist of any material as textile, plastic material, paper or the like. The ad- I hesive layer 13 consists preferably of a self-curing or thermosetting adhesive. In specific cases it is also possible to work without the adhesive layer 13, if the fibers 1 tufted on the support 10 are fastened on it directly, e.g. by the exchange of chemical groups, whereby the support in this case consists of a corresponding plastic material.

When using the described device, the fibers 1 lying on the belt conveyor 2 are lifted from. the electrode 5, guided through its meshes and are directed under the effect of electrostatical forces with high speed on the adhesive layer 13 of the support 10, where they are anchored under the influence of the forces acting on them. In a later curing of the adhesive layer the fibers are firmly fixed. The support 10 to be tufted may consist of a continuous carrier web, which is guided into the tufting device and thereafter runs out of it, as is shown in FIGURE 2. If the fibers 1 are continuously fed in by means of the conveyor belt 2, the tufting of a support of any length may be made in one continuous operation.

According to the invention a cover plate 14 is inserted between the electrodes and the support to be tufted 10. In the embodiment as shown in FIGURE 1, the cover plate 14 is carried on a slide 15, which can be moved to and fro horizontally on a bar 16 rigidly connected with the frame and it can besides be adjusted in its height by means of a further rod 17 on the slide 15. In this manner the distance of the cover plate 14 from the support may be varied as well as also the surface of the support 10, which is covered by the cover plate 14. Set screws 57 and 58 on the slide serve to fasten the cover plate 14 in any position.

The cover plate 14 consisting of metal is insulated from the other parts of the device by the insertion of corresponding insulating pieces 18', and particularly from the electrode 5 and the plate 9 and is pre-tensioned with about 100 to 10,000 volts as compared with the plate 9. For this purpose a high tension source 59 is provided. If the tension of the electrode 5 amounts e.g. to plus 100,000 volts and the plate 9 represents the negative pole of the field arrangement, which is connected possibly to ground potential, then also the cover plate .14 lies on a tension of positive sign. If the polarities of the electrode 5 and the plate 9 are reversed, it is a matter of course, that also the sign of the tension on the cover plate 14 changes.

The purpose of the cover plate 14 is to screen one part of the electric field from the support 10 to be tufted. The cover plate may be made of solid metal, preferably steel sheet metal with a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm. or also of a thinner metal foil of a thickness under 0.1 mm. In order to obtain a clean screening of the field it has been found advantageous to cut obliquely in the matter of a cutting edge the rims of the cover plate 14 as is shown in FIGURE 1. The cover plate 14 may consist of a continuous surface covering completely a part of the support 10 to be tufted and it may also have, as is shown in FIGURE 4, templettype recesses.

If a continuous cover plate 14 without any recesses is used, a stripe design may be made on the support 10. In this operation the cover plate 14 is first adjusted on the slide 15 by corresponding shifting in such a way, that the cover plate 14 covers the range of the support 10, which is to be held free from any tufting. Thereupon the height adjustment of the cover plate 14 is made in respect of the support 10. The distance of the cover plate 14 from the support 10 depends in this case in first line on the field strength used, the pre-tension of the cover plate and the fiber type to be used. The distance between the cover plate 14 and the support 10 may vary according to the situation between 2 to 200 mm. If now a support, possibly in the form of a continuous carrier web provided with an adhesive is continuouslyintroduced into the tufting device and if the covering rim of the cover plate 14 runs parallel to the running direction of the carrier web, a stripe-shaped tufting range is created on the said carrier web, with a sharp tufting limit running parallel to the covering rim of the cover plate 14.

By means of the electrically pre-tensioned cover plate 14 according to the invention, it is possible, to tuft only one side, e.g. as shown in FIGURE 1, the right hand adhesive layer. Thus the adhesive layer can extend easily beyond the range to be tufted. It is thus possible to provide the support to be tufted with a single adhesive layer extending over the large range and to tuft by means of a cover plate first the one side of the layer and thereafter, making use of a cover plate, arranged in a complementary manner to the first one, to provide also the other side of the support with fiber tufting. In this manner designs with two or more stripes may be made, which are outstanding by extremely sharp rims. The stripes may consist of fibers of different colours, length or other qualities.

By means of the cover plate according to the invention,

it is, however, not only possible to obtain striped designs, but it is also possible to manufacture designs of any other kind. In FIGURE 4 a cover plate 14 is shown which is provided with a recess 14a of a cross-shaped form. If this cover plate is arranged during the tufting at a corresponding distance from a support 10 to be tufted and is provided with the necessary tension, a tufting range corresponding to the recess 14a with again extremely sharp tufting limits is obtained. If after this process the cover plate 14 shown in FIGURE 2 is interchanged against a second templet covering exactly the range corresponding to the recess 14a, it is possible to cover now the range of the support not covered by this templet with a layer of fibers of another colour, length or other qualities, so that the cross-shaped figure shown in FIGURE 2 appears on the support. It is thus easily possible, maintaining the necessary exactness in the arrangement of the cover plates, to tuft any materials as e.g. hangings, and other carpets with designs, whereby the rims of the single design ranges are of a sharpness and uniformity not reached up to now.

In the above explanations a tufting device was described, in which the cover plate 14 was used in connection with a grate-shaped electrode 5 arranged above the fiber material 1. The same results may be reached, of course, if a solid electrode is used, which is arranged underneath the belt conveyor carrying the fibers 1. The effect of the electrically pre-tensioned cover plate thereby is not affected.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for the production of materials tufted with fibers, said device comprising a metallic support; means for introducing the materials to be tufted onto the device so that they are supported by said metal support; an electrode suspended at a distance from said support; means for generating an electric potential difference between said support and said electrode; means for intro ducing fibers into the electrical field existing between the metallic support and the electrode; at least one metallic stencil adjustably disposed between said electrode and metallic support and having a plurality of templet-shaped recesses and obiquely cutting-edge shaped rims; and means for exerting a potential difference between said metallic stencil and said metallic support.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the potential difference exerted between the metallic support and the electrode is greater than that between the metallic support and the metallic stencil.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the metallic stencil consists of steel sheet of a thickness of 0.1 mm. to 1 mm.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein a potential difference between and 10,000 volts is exerted between the metal support and the metallic stencil.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the metallic stencil consists of a metal foil with a thickness of less than 0.1 mm.

6. The device in claim 1, wherein the metallic stencil is arranged at a distance between 0.5 to 20 cm. from the metallic support.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising vibration means for vibrating the metal support with a frequency between 200 and 1000 c.p.s.

support.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Meston 118624 Meston et a1 118-624 X Benner et a1 118-638 Pohle 118301 6 Burridge et al. 118-638 X Okma et a1 118-624 Ritzerfeld et al. 118638 X Coppola 118301 Irland et a1. 118-622 X FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain.

10 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Extmtiner.

PETER FELDMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MATERIALS TUFTED WITH FIBERS, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A METALLIC SUPPORT; MEANS FOR INTRODUCING THE MATERIALS TO BE TUFTED NTO THE DEVICE SO THAT THEY ARE SUPPORTED BY SAID METAL SUPPORT; AN ELECTRODE SUSPENDED AT A DISTANCE FROM SAID SUPPORT; MEANS FOR GENERATING AN ELECTRIC POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAID SUPPORT AND SAID ELECTRODE; MEANS FOR INTRODUCING FIBERS INTO THE ELECTRICAL FIELD EXISTING BETWEEN THE METALIC SUPPORT AND THE ELECTRODE; AT LEAST ONE METALLIC STENCIL ADJUSTABLY DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID ELECTRODE AND METALLIC SUPPORT AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF TEMPLET-SHAPED RECESSES AND OBLIQUELY CUTTING-EDGE SHAPED RIMS; AND MEANS FOR EXERTING A POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAID METALLIC STENCIL AND SAID METALLIC SUPPORT. 